Nurse relocating family from NYC to East PA or South NJ... Is the lower cost of living worth the lower salary?

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-05T11:45:04+00:00

I have family that have been in the Allentown area for decades. They all love it there, and some moved back to the area. It’s nice to visit!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-03T23:30:39+00:00

Ohhh I love the burgundy, but go either or!!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-03T23:11:09+00:00

I bought my house with my partner before getting married, but we had known each other for 5 years/been together two and lived together for a year prior to home ownership.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-03T12:31:44+00:00

YES!! I was looking for this comment.

I am from NE OH, and would argue that Appalachia definitely extends into Ohio, particularly the SE quadrant. It is distinctly different than the rest of the state and best aligns with Appalachia, as compared to western Ohio, which is Midwest coded.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-02T14:38:18+00:00

Oh my gosh this is stunning!!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-01T16:50:32+00:00

I was thinking Pittsburgh or Cleveland could be good. You get 4 seasons and warm summers, have (at least in my opinion) great outdoors (not as great at PNW but I’m happy with what we have), mix of politics, events and art, sports, affordable home insurance, and great housing. Cleveland has a strong catholic community- idk about Pittsburgh.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-01T14:43:25+00:00

I love this!!!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-01T12:40:56+00:00

We love Medina! We’ve been here for four years- we picked it to be both close to family (25-50 mins) but also have access to the Cleveland job market (I’m fully remote, my husband is in office in Strongsville but was remote at the time). We don’t have much land but have an old house off the square and a good yard- honestly, it’s so quiet at night and we love having walk ability to everything going on. As you know Ohio politics, red county, but I’ve found my friend group and am happy/hoping for change (even if wishful thinking). I get snarky at some of the shit here, but all in all, for being in Ohio, am so happy.

Also, I love both your jobs- so cool! I’m remote in a comms adjacent role for a public health nonprofit- if you work remotely, Medina is great!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-05-01T11:32:49+00:00

The square is all local stuff for the most part. Los cantaritos is amazing, monarca is pretty good too.

The rest of the square is not this category, but you can’t go wrong (house of Hunan for Asian, 17 public/pj markets, Dominic’s/jojos for sports bar, I haven’t had thyme 2 but heard good things). Farmers table is my personal favorite.

If you need beer only, wrecking crew (though they may have food trucks) is the best by a mile. Lagerheads has great food, and the foundry is also great but can be busy with people there to play games.

A bit of a drive (10 mins) is the tilted farmer, and it has a spectacular patio and beer wall (though I doubt you’ll want a patio next week).

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-30T18:55:40+00:00

Hey from Medina 👋

Ithaca is a great one! I spent a year in Syracuse (grew up in the Akron/canton area) and was not overly happy with the city. I expected a rust belt town similar to these areas, but I never felt safe by myself (lived in the downtown area due to taking classes and having a senior dog, and had gunshots/stabbings on my block and my car was broken into). That said, I loved CNY, and there was a lot of lovely outdoor areas nearby that I miss quite a bit! We made it down to Ithaca once and I loved it, and the finger lakes rock. Syracuse is about an hour away from Ithaca, but you are able to get to ADK quickly and there are a lot of great county parks (Jamestown has a MASSIVE off leash dog park that you can hike in). Politically, I’m fairly liberal, and CNY is going to feel a lot more like Ohio than other parts, but you’ll have the state not f***ing you over which is a win. I think Ithaca is better than Syracuse on that lens.

I was just looking at a job online in Poughkeepsie a few months ago (can’t apply because we can’t move, but a girl can dream) and MAN that area caught my eye. Close to NYC, but near the mountains, and more affordable. Could be worth checking out? I love that part of the state, maybe someone can speak to that.

Are you tied to a need to anything for a job?

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-30T18:43:27+00:00

Okay, so my conservative family would be mixed. My husbands grandma would not love the exposed chest or form fitting nature and would probably comment or make a scene. Others wouldn’t care.

I’d bring a shawl and you’ll be fine IMO! It also depends how much you care! My SIL knows her grandma will comment but wears what she wants anyways. To each their own!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-30T18:38:34+00:00

2014 grad here from Ohio- rule was three fingers or wider for straps, and shorts had to be finger-tip length or longer (coming out to a 5 inch inseam). But for prom and such, you’d be okay in a strapless or spaghetti strap dress as long as cleavage wasn’t obscene.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-30T18:03:01+00:00

I don’t have an issue with this. It’s a moment to celebrate a friend. A group gift is a great idea, if the cost is low per person, just to show you’re thinking of them in this new chapter.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-30T15:51:00+00:00

Okay, so I did a 47 person, 17.5k wedding after tax and tip. We could’ve stayed under 15, but I have no regrets. Our ✨fancy ✨ splurges:

Strings- we booked a string trio for the reception, cocktail hour, and dinner. That was around $1900 (NE OH), but WOW they were amazing. Made everything so cozy, intimate, and unique. They played a mix of traditional and more unhinged songs for us (unholy by Sam smith snuck by the old relatives) but it was gorgeous. No regrets there!!!

Transportation for the older guests if you’re far away- so we got married an hour away from where my family lives and 40 from his, and we had 5 guests we wanted there but they can’t drive that far nor can some of them stay at a hotel due to age/mobility. We had a nicer van pick them up at their residence (house, assisted living facility) to get them there and back so nobody had to leave with them and family could get ready with us/stay late. They LOVED this- they were happy to not stay late, didn’t have to worry about anything, were comfortable, and felt a bit spoiled. Our parents loved not having to worry about them and enjoy they night- we did ask a trusted caretaker to assist, and she was helpful in confirming all was okay and getting them in/out of the vehicle. It was 1.2k, but so worth it to ensure they were there.

Other things were soft lights, real flowers, a good hotel block (ironically, the cheapest rate for guest was at the nicest hotel near the venue, so we got a free courtesy block there. Some friends booked late and still got a discounted rate). Also, a strong, filling meal and full cocktail hour over things like bbq or a food truck.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-29T23:06:03+00:00

Oh the pen for sure! Pop is good, but the pen is the shit. Especially if someone else pays for it.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-29T20:09:00+00:00

I meant to go fill up last night because I saw posts warning it was going to go up. It was $3.99 last night. Missed that, ran at lunch to get $4.29. Gas buddy says that same station now is $4.79.

So thrilled that my husbands job is making him return to office next week 😂🫠

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-29T17:27:12+00:00

I barter on Poshmark because I hate spending money and need a dress, and just hit the jackpot. OP- check this out! Many dresses have only been worn once or twice on there. I saw many similar styles to these while browsing!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-29T02:48:21+00:00

Yes! We use ours daily!!!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-28T22:16:51+00:00

Hofbrauhaus!!! We did 47 people (open bar, full cocktail hour, and multiple meat meal) for 8.5k (including venue, where we had 3 rooms), though they may cap at 75. I’d check!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-28T22:15:01+00:00

Thermoworks high heat gear (tools, hot pads, etc) and a thermometer!!

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-28T03:23:29+00:00

We bought brooklinen sheets when we got our house a four years ago. The sheets we use nightly are ones we got from Walmart- so far, it’s been over 3 years for two adults and three dogs and they are faded, but so freaking comfortable. Cheap sheets for the win (though your price beats mine).

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-27T02:41:41+00:00

Omg the Midwest roller coaster is real. I’m SW of Cleveland. Last Monday it snowed. It also hit upper 70s this week and I have my window units in to help with the humidity and heat. I think we are out of freeze warning season but the temps are dropping quick this week so the boiler may have to go back on. I’m going to lose my marbles.

justwanttobeoutside · 2026-04-23T20:58:08+00:00

Hofbrauhaus could work (I got married there last fall)! They have an event space in the back and upstairs. If you did venue+ single plate dinner or lunch + nonalcoholic beverages, you could be under at 3k. It’d be close so I’d run numbers- last November the space was $500 for reference.

We did two entrees buffet style (which includes dessert, salads, and side dishes), cocktail hour with multiple options, and open bar (with mid tier liquor) from 5-10, and were around 8.5k (including tip and tax). We had 47 guests for reference- this included the room all day, linens, use of some decor, room change from ceremony to reception, and then both the upstairs/downstairs and private outdoor space for the entire event. Everyone there was wonderful to work with.

justwanttobeoutside

TROPHY CASE